Generally, shoes such as running shoes and the like are configured such that shoelaces are laced in a zigzag form to closely contact the feet of a user. Close contact between shoes and the feet of a user is enhanced by tightening shoelaces by pulling them, and thus comfortable walking is enabled.
However, it is not easy for lower grade elementary school students, pre-school children, or the elderly to loosen and tighten shoelaces.
In addition, opposite end portions or knots of loosened shoelaces may be untied due to vigorous movement, caught by an external object or the like during exercise such as climbing, track cycling, and the like. In such a case, the untied shoelaces result in poor performance and an increased risk of injury due to accidents, and thus it is necessary to completely prevent shoelaces from becoming untied.
In addition, rest may be sufficiently taken only when firmly tightened shoelaces are untied, and thus, most preferably, the shoelaces should be easily tightened, a tightened state thereof should be stably maintained, and the shoelaces should be loosened easily when necessary.
Thus, a variety of apparatuses for facilitating tightening and loosening of shoelaces, which are opposite operations, have been developed.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe equipped with a conventional shoelace tightening apparatus 10. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the conventional shoelace tightening apparatus 10.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional shoelace tightening apparatus 10 is provided at a tongue T of the shoe, and, when a rotary cover 51 is rotated, an intermediate member 53 and a winding member 55 are coupled and rotated together. At this time, a shoelace L is wound on the winding member 55, and an engagement and restriction portion 53z of the intermediate member 53 is locked in a one-way ratchet gear 57c of a housing 57 to be locked not to be rotated in a reverse direction.
Subsequently, when the rotary cover 51 is pulled upward, a locking step portion 62 of a rotary shaft 61 is moved upward while stretching an elastic member 59 by elastically pressing the elastic member 59, and the intermediate member 53 is lifted. Accordingly, the intermediate member 53 and the winding member 55 are uncoupled and the shoelace L may be loosened by being pulled via free rotation of the winding member 55.
For this, the elastic member 59 formed of a U-shaped thin metal is separately fabricated, and the elastic member 59 has problems in terms of being assembled in the shoelace tightening apparatus 10 via complicated assembly processes.
In addition, the conventional shoelace tightening apparatus 10 has problems in that, when the rotary cover 51 is pulled upward so that the shoelace is loosened, the elastic member 59 escapes from its original position, and thus a product breaks down which results in reduced durability and reliability of the product. To address these problems, when a lower structure of the housing 57 to which the elastic member 59 is coupled is deformed into a complicated structure, the number of components has been increased, however this has led to productivity of products being deteriorated.
Furthermore, the rotary cover 51 and the rotary shaft 61 are fastened to each other by a bolt member, and thus, when the bolt member is not completely fastened, malfunction occurs. In addition, when the rotary cover 51 is forcibly manipulated, the rotary shaft 61, which is made of an injection-molded resin material, is easily broken by the bolt member, which is made of a metal material.